Davies: Fans Wanted To “Break My Legs”

British & Irish Lions centre Jonathan Davies has said he was the victim of abuse on Twitter after he was selected ahead of Brian O’Driscoll for the series-defining third Test against the Wallabies.

Davies was one of the Lions’ stars on their tour of Australia with his performance against the Waratahs one of the best single showings of the tour. And he was picked ahead of O’Driscoll for the third Test.

This selection by Warren Gatland provoked widespread outcry and the Kiwi coach said the reaction was “vitriolic” after he saw his team thrash the Wallabies in the third Test. Davies has revealed that he too was the victim of abuse with some fans wanting to “break my legs”.

“There was a lot of stuff on Twitter but I tried not to take too much notice of it. I had some good advice from players like Mike Phillips who just told me to ignore it,” Davies told the Daily Telegraph. “I was just grateful to have been given the opportunity to win the series. I did get a bit of verbal abuse and people wanting to break my legs and stuff. But I didn’t really care.

“I did feel like public enemy number one and there was a lot of pressure. But I felt like I had performed well under pressure. It was a great experience and I enjoyed every minute. Brian congratulated me afterwards and said well done. We were tight as a squad and Brian will be glad to have it on his CV. I have had six weeks off and I’ve enjoyed it. I’ve been away on holiday and can’t wait to get back playing.”#